


The Legend of the Hulaghoul

by MassiveGee



Category: Horror - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveGee/pseuds/MassiveGee





	The Legend of the Hulaghoul

The Legend of the Hulaghoul

In the downtown district of the city I live in there is an old school bookstore, which is supposedly haunted. Yesterday was the first day said bookstore had opened since the whole quarantine thing. I went straight after work, eagerly. I loved that old shop, even if the stories of it had been true. Opening the tired glass door, I immediately felt at home again. The first thing I noticed was the old, musky smell which reminded me of visiting my grandparents when I was younger.

Walking through the aisles of books I noticed one had fallen off its shelf. Feeling a sense of urgency, I went to retrieve it. The book was brown with a thick, hard spine. It almost felt like bone. The cover was even more mysterious, well because it was blank. Curiosity getting the best of me I began flipping through the pages of the book. Each page was so dusty I could barely read the lightly printed words. I began to read the first page which started with the words "The Legend of the Hulaghoul". That is all it said, but what did that mean? The shopkeeper caught me looking through it and asked where I had found it. Her elderly eyes were fixated on it from the second I turned around.

“It was here. Laying on the floor”, I said handing her the book. She took a few steps back as fast as her tired, slim body would allow.

“That book does not belong here.” The wrinkles in her forehead grew more profound as she continued, “You may take it with you free of charge…just please leave now.”

Finding her remarks very odd I pulled the book back and looked at it again, perplexed. I could not see anything wrong with it. Nothing was damaged, though a little old and tattered it seemed perfectly fine. Why would she be so eager to get rid of a good piece of literature? Scooping up the mysterious book and a few others I had picked out I made my way to the checkout counter. Outside of the bookstore I was met with a cold, harsh rain. Random showers were unfortunate in my city, but not uncommon. My apartment building was only a few blocks away, but not wanting to walk in the rain I jumped on the first bus home. Making my way through the long corridor of the lobby I was met by one of my neighbors, Mrs. Davis. She was a middle aged, heavy set woman. Our interactions typically involved her complaining that I was too loud as I was going in and out of my apartment. Nodding at her I hurried up the stairs avoiding any further confrontation.

Once inside and feeling a sense of relief to be home I laid my keys and wallet on the counter in the kitchen. Everything else that afternoon was normal. I watched a bit of TV, ate dinner, and got ready for bed. I laid the book on my nightstand next to my bed, intending to check it out. However, after a long workday and trip to the bookstore I was exhausted. I laid down in bed and closed my eyes to fall asleep. Things soon got very strange. While my eyes were shut, I began hearing strange whispers that sounded like they were right beside my ear. As soon as I would open my eyes they would fade and be gone. A few times in the middle of the night I even got up to make sure I did not leave the TV or anything else on. Shrugging it off I climbed back into bed with my eyes wide open. I looked around my bedroom nervously and when I peered down the hallway was the first time, I saw it….

A tall, black humanoid figure stood at the other end of the hall. Thinking it was an intruder I instinctively turned on the lamp sitting on my nightstand. When I looked again the shadow like entity had already made its way into my room. In the few panicked seconds that it took to sit up and turn on the light I was already within feet of this thing. With the room lit up I could see it clearly. There was no hair or any facial features on it at all. It had no eyes, no mouth, no ears, not even a nose. Just a blank, black face and body. It looked like a car crash dummy, except standing and swaying back and forth on its own. The arms of the creature scaled down its entire body. It had no hands or fingers, just black stubs that ended where the knees would have been on a normal human. A strange methodical rhythm seemed to control its entire body as it stood in one place. 

Realizing this was not some kind of nightmare and I was not going to be waking up any time soon I shot myself out of bed. Backing away, trying to create some distance between us I tripped over a laundry basket that had been carelessly left in the middle of the floor. Falling backward I crashed into the wall, knocking over several picture frames, which crashed and broke on the floor. Jumping back onto my feet as quickly as I could I refaced the monster. I picked up a piece of the picture frames, which were shattered and threw it. However, it was no use. The glass passed right through the body of the beast and hit the wall on the other side. Now it was standing in the middle of my room, still making the same strange tweaking motions.

*“Feed”*, an obscure voice muttered. I stared curiously wondering how I heard this thing talk when it had no mouth. It was like I was hearing in my own head or it was speaking to me telepathically. *”Feed….feed’*, the stern voice repeated. It sounded like a child begging for something to eat but combined with this horrid sight it was anything but innocent. I knew I had to get out of the apartment. Bolting out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the door was my only option. I could not hear any footsteps behind me but could sense its presence like it was right behind me. Making it to the front door I clinched the handle, unlocked the dead bolt and swung it open.

When I stumbled onto the corridor of the second floor I was immediately met by Mrs. Davis. Hearing the loud crashes and noises she was well on her way to my door.

“Mrs. Davis….we have to….its…”, I spit out as I was trying to catch my breath and gather my thoughts at the same time. At this point I was drenched in sweat. I looked over my shoulder and saw the nightmarish figure standing in the doorway.

“What in the world is going on in there? Don’t you know some people are trying to sleep!!?” She seemed confused and irritated at the same time. She looked in the direction of my apartment where it was standing but seemed like nothing was wrong. Did she not even see this thing? At this point I began thinking I was making the whole thing up and I was going crazy. Then I heard the same voice in my head again.

*”Feed”*. It began swaying and twitching faster, as if it were getting excited. A strange, white glow began emitting itself around its body. Mrs. Davis looked down at her feet, as if she felt something crawling on up her legs. She immediately began swatting at her legs and soon moved up to her stomach like she was desperately trying to get something off that was crawling up her body. Soon she became hysterical. Screaming and moving around the hallway kicking and scratching her arms. The more she convulsed the more pleased the creature seemed.

“Spiders….get these things off of me!!” She was now clawing at her face desperately trying to get something off that was not there. Leaving deep scratch marks on her face it began to bleed. Still screaming she was trying to make her way to the stairs. In her panicked state she began to lose her balance just as she reached the edge of the railing. Her body flipped over the barrier and fell down to the first floor below. I could not believe what I had just witnessed, as I heard a loud thud from downstairs. I stood there in the middle of the corridor in disbelief not knowing what to do. I didn’t’ want to look over the side. I did not even want to move. The behemoth behind me stood in its place and seemed to calm down. 

Seemingly pleased with itself and content for the time being I heard the words again in my head. *“Feed….more”.*


End file.
